OSCE Secretary General, in Jeddah, calls for co-operation with OIC on Afghanistan, anti-terrorism, elections, mediation

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, 3 April 2012 – OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier emphasized today in Jeddah the importance of increased dialogue between the OSCE and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to address key security issues.

During his two-day visit, Zannier met OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and opened a conference on developing effective mediation, organized jointly by the OSCE, the OIC and the UN.

“Election monitoring and election support could be two key areas for increased interaction between the OSCE and the OIC,” Zannier told Ihsanoglu.

Highlighting potential areas for increased co-operation, Zannier stressed that terrorism remained a security challenge for both organizations. Strengthening OSCE engagement with Afghanistan was another key topic of discussion, and Zannier and Ihsanoglu exchanged views on how to further assist Afghanistan, including in the economic field.

“The OSCE is very well placed to promote security and stability in the region through its field operations in Central Asia and its thematic expertise,” said Zannier.

He underlined that the current OIC Chairmanship of Kazakhstan, which chaired the OSCE in 2010, was contributing to enhancing OSCE-OIC dialogue especially with regard to Central Asia. OSCE engagement with its Mediterranean Partners and continuing developments in the region were also discussed.

“At the request of our Mediterranean Partners we have developed a list of projects for potential co-operation in areas such as border security, transnational threats and freedom of movement,” said Zannier.

In his opening address to the Jeddah Consultation on Developing Effective Mediation, Zannier underlined the importance of sharing experience between regional organizations while developing guidance on effective mediation.

“I welcome the continued close co-operation with other organizations, in particular the UN and the EU, as the OSCE is developing a more systematic mediation support capacity following a decision by OSCE foreign ministers in December 2011,” he said.

The Jeddah consultation is a follow-up to a similar event organized jointly by the OSCE and the UN in December 2010 in Vienna. It brings together senior representatives from the UN, regional, sub-regional and other international organizations and aims to contribute to the UN Secretary-General’s forthcoming report on guidance for effective mediation by sharing experience and lessons learned.